São Paulo starts using anti-drone weapon to prevent aerial deliveries to prisons

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The weapon is large. It weighs about 12 kilos, and it looks like the stuff of sci-fi movies. But rather than bullets, it shoots laser beams.

In a demonstration, the prison guard points to the sky looking for drones. After the warning that the target has been located, the anti-drone system, which combines frequency detection and radio waves, audio, and an optical sensor, goes into action.

The device sends out a frequency that interrupts communication between the clandestine equipment and the criminal controlling it. This way, the officer is able to control the drone. It may be kept flying until the battery runs out, for instance. The drone crashes and is destroyed. Or alternatively, the drone can be commanded to land near agents. Another option is to use the drone to locate the criminal.

“The officer can use a feature that makes the drone go back where it took off from, and we can then also arrest the drone operator,” says Penitentiary Administration Secretary Nivaldo César Restivo.

The drones began flying over São Paulo’s prisons in 2019. With the pandemic and the suspension of visits for a year, it became more difficult to pass drugs and cell phones through the prisons’ main gate. Criminals increased their use of technology.

In 2019, 16 drones were seen flying over penitentiaries in the state of São Paulo. Last year there were 158. And 9 pieces of equipment were intercepted in the two years. One of them was carrying packages with drugs into a prison. Another carried 20 cell phones and chargers.

The first 4 anti-drone weapons in Brazil cost R$2.8 million (US$513.000). As São Paulo is home to 176 prisons, the Penitentiary Administration Secretariat defined criteria for the weapons to be distributed.

“We have a list of facilities with the highest incidence of drone use and that is where this equipment will be directed,” Nivaldo explains.

Anti-drone weapons are still a novelty in Brazil. In other countries, they are used in different applications. In the United States, the anti-drone systems reinforce security at airports, and prevent prison breaks.

French authorities are currently conducting tests with anti-drone systems to prevent terrorist attacks during the 2024 Olympics.

With information from G1

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